Inconsistencies in Turtledove's Work
Harry Turtledove has periodically been criticized for inconsistencies within a given series or novel, and, more rarely, with the OTL historical record. Possible Explanation In alternate history writings, some of these inconsistencies, such as the dating of the Ruled Britannia plays, George Patton's native state, the flag of Quebec, etc., may be attributed to the butterfly effect or another logical fallout from a particular Point of Divergence. However, no such explanation has been explicitly offered. Some inconsistent statements can be explained away as errors made by characters, regardless of Turtledove's intentions. Others are probably intended to be inside jokes. The remaining mistakes can only be the result of error. While these might be explained in-universe with creative speculation, it is not the purpose of this article to do so. Inconsistencies in After the Downfall #Hasso Pemsel has a rhetorical thought about "betting Deutschmarks to dung."After the Downfall, p. 66. The Deutschmark was not introduced until 1948; Hasso left our world in 1945, when Nazi Germany's currency was the Reichsmark. Inconsistencies in Atlantis , code-named Richard.]] #In the opening passage of "New Hastings", the first part of Opening Atlantis, Edward Radcliffe is stated to be "nearly fifty". The scene takes place in 1452. (Actually, there is some debate about that within this very scene, but in Liberating Atlantis the date is retroactively confirmed). In chapter IX of the same novella, Edward is stated to have been born in 1401, so he was already fifty in the first scene. #Also in "New Hastings", Henry Radcliffe refers to his wife Lucy, whom he imagines will be unwilling to leave Hastings, England for Atlantis.Opening Atlantis, p. 23-24. Some 15 years later, he's married to a woman named Bess, and apparently always has: the couple reminisce about life in Hastings, England.Ibid., p. 81. #In the same novella, King Edward IV banishes the Earl of Warwick to Atlantis. However Richard Radcliffe's wife Bertha informs her husband that Henry VI is the relevant king.Ibid., p. 127. This character-error may be an example of how indifferent New Hastings people are to English affairs. #In "Avalon," which appears to take place around 1666, crime figure Mary Carleton is said to be "at least thirty-five."Ibid., p. 186. The real Carleton was only about 24 at the time. However, Turtledove mixes and matches the chronologies of several pirates in this story, including Stede Bonnet and Cutpurse Charlie Condent, who appear here a few decades before their historical analogs were born. Thus, the Carleton of the story may not be meant to be the historical figure. #A minor character in The United States of Atlantis is referred to as Tim Knox in his contemporary reference and "Tom Knox" in his obituary.The United States of Atlantis, pgs. 41, 111. #In The United States of Atlantis, historical figure Charles Cornwallis is referred to as "Richard Cornwallis" in one passage.The United States of Atlantis, p. 173. #Within a few chapters in the same novel, the status of Catholicism in Atlantis goes from "flourishing in points south" [[Hanover, Atlantis|Hanover]] to predominated by Protestantism "but not to the extent was dominated on the other side of the Atlantic" to there being "precious few of Romish opinions...in New Hastings," which is, of course, south of Hanover. #During the Atlantean War of Independence, a couple references are made to the "long drop" method of hanging. The long drop wasn't devised (in OTL) as a method of execution until the 1870s, almost a century after the events of the book. #Several English-speaking characters in the same war use the word "guerrilla" in its modern meaning, and they acknowledge that it's a Spanish word. While the term may have existed in the Spanish-speaking world before the 18th century, its first "borrowing" English occurred during the Peninsular War (1808-1813), one of the Napoleonic Wars. #In Book One of Liberating Atlantis, Frederick Radcliff tells Lorenzo that he has been "waiting all my life to be free." This is a bit of nostalgia-colored revisionism on his part; while he had always resented slavery, he was very content to live as a slave as long as he remained majordomo of Henry Barford's plantation. Before being demoted to the fields, he only occasionally thought of running away, and never seriously. The idea of rising up did not occur to him at all till his chance meeting with the half-delirious Peter Torrance. #In Chapter VII of Liberating Atlantis, one of Leland Newton's POV scenes begins by referring to him as "Consul Stafford."Liberating Atlantis, p. 110. #In a battlefield scene, the narration refers to Consul Jeremiah Stafford as "Colonel Stafford." Another character in the same scene, Balthasar Sinapis, has the rank of Colonel.Ibid., p. 189. #A very short time later, Sinapis bows his head rather than nodding. The POV character witnessing this, Leland Newton, reflects that he is once again reminded of Zeus in the Iliad. There had indeed been an earlier scene in which Sinapis bowed and Zeus was invoked, but that scene was narrated by Jeremiah Stafford.Ibid., p. 192. #On the same page, Sinapis makes reference to "putting the genie back in the bottle" and asks whether Atlanteans know that story. Stafford says the reference comes from the tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves in the Arabian Nights, and Sinapis nods. Stafford is only half correct; there is a genie in the Nights, but in the story of Aladdin's Lamp, not Ali Baba.Ibid, p. 192. However, Sinapis' nod might have been misinterpreted - Sinapis is Greek, and when Greek people nod, they mean "no" (a custom Turtledove has acknowledged in other works). #Tobacco is called pipeweed, by characters of all nationalities throughout the series, except in "The Scarlet Band," when Athelstan Helms of England refers to it as tobacco. #In the first Atlantis story published, "Audubon in Atlantis", which is set in 1843, we are told that the capital of the United States of Atlantis is Hanover. The second story published, "The Scarlet Band", which is set around 1880, confirms this. In the novel The United States of Atlantis, the first capital of the country in the 1770s is New Hastings, and remains so in Liberating Atlantis. As Liberating is set in 1852, this suggests that the capital was moved back and forth. While nothing precludes this shifting of capital cities, such an important issue is never addressed in the plot. #The audiobook editions of the longer books contain a few mis-speaks by reader Todd McLaren (which are not in the printed book). Red Rodney Radcliffe and Victor Radcliff are referred to a few times as "Henry," Custis Cawthorne is more than once pronounced "Curtis", and King Edward IV is at one point called Edward VI. Inconsistencies in The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump #The Confederated Provinces of America is called the Confederation for short. However, on page 74, narrator David Fisher refers to it as the "Confederacy." #The name of the neighboring Empire fluctuates between "Aztecia" and "Azteca" throughout the novel. #On page 30, David Fisher explains how, hypothetically, a typo in a flying carpet user's manual can land you in Boston, Oregon instead of Boston, Massachusetts. The former name almost certainly refers to the legend of how Portland, Oregon almost came to be called Boston, but for the flip of a coin - an anecdote which Turtledove has played with elsewhere. Yet on page 101, Fisher refers to Portland by its OTL name. Inconsistencies in "Cayos in the Stream" #Ernest Hemingway thinks about "General" Fulgencio Batista. The highest military rank Batista ever claimed was Colonel. Inconsistencies in Conan of Venarium #In chapter I, a minor character is called Eogannan during his only direct appearance.Conan of Venarium, p. 18. In chapter II, he is posthumously referenced as "Eoganan," short one "n".Ibid., p. 48. See also *[http://conan.wikia.com/wiki/Conan_of_Venarium#Continuity_Notes Inconsistencies in Conan of Venarium at the Conan wiki], a list of the novel's inconsistencies with other Conan stories. These are irrelevant to the Turtledove wiki, which treats the novel as a stand-alone work. Inconsistencies in "Counting Potsherds" In the final scene, Mithredath first refers to Hermippos by his correct name, but later calls him "Hipparkhos".''Departures'', p. 27-28. Inconsistencies in Crosstime Traffic #Twice in the series, female POV characters from the home timeline refer to American ornithologist Eugene Schieffelin as having been English.Gunpowder Empire, p. 120; In High Places, p. 267. Inconsistencies in ''The Gladiator'' #The book's title page says "Crosstime Traffic - Book Four". In fact, it is Book Five. The Disunited States of America is Book Four. #In the first chapter, the Cyrillic transliteration of Annarita Crosetti is given as Аннарита Кростти. The correct spelling is Аннарита Кросэтти.''The Gladiator'', page 15. #A gaming shop in San Marino is first called The Triple Six. Subsequently, it is referred to as The Three Sixes. Inconsistencies in Gunpowder Empire #In chapter one, it is said that Canoga Park High School is "almost 150 years old" and most of the buildings date back to the 1950s. (The novel takes place sometime around 2095). In fact, the school dates back to 1914 at the same location. Inconsistencies in Darkness #In the Dramatis Personae of Into the Darkness, the Sibiu section lists both "Burebistu, King of Sibiu" and "Vitor, King of Sibiu". No king is listed for Lagoas, Vitor's proper nationality. #In Into the Darkness, King Swemmel of Unkerlant strongly implies that he had his twin brother Kyot beheaded by axe.Into the Darkness, p. 82-83, HC. In all other volumes, Kyot is remembered as having been boiled in oil. #In Into the Darkness, King Donalitu of Jelgava is given the ordinal Donalitu V.Ibid., p. 74, HC. In Out of the Darkness, he is Donalitu III.Out of the Darkness, pg. 60, HC 62, mmp. #Balastro is a Marquis throughout the series. One scene in Darkness Descending, while properly (re-)introducing Marquis Balastro, later refers to "Count Balastro."Darkness Descending, p. 278-280, mmp. #The Dramatis Personae list in Rulers of the Darkness lists two Valmieran characters Amatu and Lauzdonu as "nobleman returned from Valmiera." In fact they are returning to Valmiera from Lagoas. In the Zuwayza section, "Qutuz, Hajjaj's secretary in Bishah" is listed twice. #In the opening scene of Rulers, Lieutenant Recared addresses Sergeant Leudast as "Lieutenant." Leudast calls him "sir" in return, without correcting the mistaken rank. #The most prominent member of the Seven Princes of Kuusamo is introduced in Through the Darkness as Jauhainen. In all future volumes, his name is changed to Juhainen. #In chapter three of Rulers, it is stated that a Lagoan officer had "evidently been briefed that Sibiu spoke his language imperfectly." The context makes clear that the sentence should be "...that Cornelu spoke..."Rulers of the Darkness, p. 88, HC. #In Jaws of Darkness, chapter 14, the narration in Fernao's POV scene refers to him at one point as Sabrino.Jaws of Darkness, p. 388, HC. #The daughter of Mosco and Bauska was born in Through the Darkness and introduced as Malya. Starting in Jaws of Darkness, her name has been inexplicably changed to Brindza, the same name as the daughter of Cornelu and Costache.Jaws of Darkness, p. 494, 504, HC, Out of the Darkness, p. 68, HC, also the Dramatis Personae lists of both books. #In Out of the Darkness, the narration in one of Bembo's POV scenes states "He remembered Evodio, who'd begged off pulling blonds out of houses, and who'd regularly drunk himself into a stupor because he couldn't stand what the Algarvians were doing in Forthweg." This describes the actions of Almonio, not Evodio; while Bembo and Evodio shared Almonio's feelings, they did not let them obstruct the performance of their duties.Out of the Darkness, p. 359, HC. Inconsistencies in Days of Infamy : Just who is in charge here?]] #Oscar van der Kirk encounters the American submarine ''Amberjack, and its commander, Woody Kelley, in 1942. In OTL, the Amberjack was commanded by Lt. Commander John A. Bole, Jr., from its launch in March 1942 until it was sunk in February 1943. However, given that the history of the US Navy diverges wildly from OTL after 7 December 1941, there are any number of possible explanations why something like this might change, making this the least problematic item in this list. #When Lt. Ralph Goodwin is explaining CAC Wirraways to Joe Crosetti in May 1942, he tells him that the Aussies use them as ground-attack planes and light bombers. However, at the out-break of war in the Pacific Ocean in OTL, the Wirraways were used as Stop-Gap Fighters. After the fall of Rabul in February 1942, they were withdrawn from the front line. Although they were used in a CAS role during the Malayan campaign once, it wasn't until November 1942 when the Wirraways were put back into action, that they gained their famous reputation for CAS air craft and light bombers. #In both volumes, the Zero fighter quickly takes control of the skies over the Pacific knocking down all opposition, including the Wildcat and the Curtiss P-40. In reality, the Zero was a highly fragile aircraft, lacking armor and self-sealing fuel tanks which kept it from gaining complete control over the skies as the Japanese pilots, all of whom were veterans, were the main contributor for the Zero's fearsome reputation. The Crack-Man Policy of the Japanese Navy's Air Force kept these pilots on constant combat duty, leaving no reserves when they were killed, while the Allies always had combat trained reserves on hand. The plane's weaknesses, combined with the loss of those veteran pilots allowed fighters like the P-40 and the Wildcat to hold their own against the Zero. #thumb|[[Tomoyuki Yamashita (Days of Infamy)|Tomoyuki Yamashita: Forget "firstest with the mostest." Just be in two oceans at once!]]In Days of Infamy, the Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita is responsible for the conquest of Hawaii. In OTL, his daring and bold innovative tactics were the cause for the quick and rapid conquest of Malaya and Singapore. Yet in DOI, both fall at exactly the same speed despite Yamashita not being there. #Throughout the series, which takes place 1941-3, Yamashita's rank is constantly referred to as Major-General. However, he was promoted to Lieutenant-General in November 1937, four years before the POD. #In Days of Infamy, during the 1st Battle of the North Pacific, the Japanese Navy fight the naval battle only with their aircraft carriers. The battle ends because the Japanese have sunk and disabled all three American carriers, and their own are in a precarious way, thus leaving the rest of the US Pacific Fleet intact. In OTL, Japanese Naval Doctrine dictated that the aircraft carrier was used for softening up the enemy fleet for the battleships and cruisers to destroy them using traditional naval gunnery action. Even Admiral Yamamoto followed this doctrine to the letter. Having the Japanese rely solely on the aircraft carrier as the prime weapon of the fleet and not trying to finish their enemies off with their surface ships -- with no enemy air cover -- is highly uncharacteristic of not only Yamamoto, but the entire Japanese Navy. #Japanese aircraft carriers are portrayed in both novels as operating individually. While American carriers were indeed deployed as single ships in 1941-2, Japan's effectiveness in carrier warfare during that period stemmed from organizing their flattops in pairs. Two carriers with similar capabilities were deployed together as a carrier division; thus, if the ''Soryu'' had been left behind to protect Hawaii, her sister-ship ''Hiryu'' would have remained with her rather than the older ''Akagi''. Throughout the novels there is no reference whatsoever to Japanese carrier organization or its role in the Japanese navy's triumphs. Inconsistencies in A Different Flesh #In "The Iron Elephant", a character notes that the Federated Commonwealths of America had been independent for a generation by 1782, implying that independence had come around 1762. However, in the following story "Though the Heavens Fall", we learn that independence came in 1738, which is over two generations. It should be noted that "generation" is a vague, flexible unit of time, but Turtledove usually uses the 20-30 year definition for a generation in his writing. #In "Trapping Run", Henry Quick's drinking buddy is called James Cartwright by the narration, but "John" by Quick himself. However, the scene makes quite clear that Quick is deeply in his cups.A Different Flesh, p. 244-245. Inconsistencies in Earthgrip and "Nasty, Brutish, &. . . " 1. No date is given for either of these stories in relation to each other; both take place some time around the turn of the thirtieth century. Naplak Naplak Nap tells Walter Harbron about the Great Ones' attempt to destroy humans by creating the common cold prior to the Suicide Wars, suggesting knowledge of the discovery of the Great Ones' stronghold in Earthgrip, as that information had been previously lost to the Foitani; from this we may deduce that the short story is set after the novella. However, Harbron falsely believes that the Suicide Wars were fought for racial and religious reasons, which suggests that the other great revelation of Jennifer Logan's Foitan adventure, the sexual nature of the Wars, is not known, suggesting either that the story is set earlier or that the information regarding the roles of kwopillot and vodranet in Foitan history had been suppressed after all; but if either is true, presumably knowledge of the Foitan expedition to Earth would still be unknown. Inconsistencies in ''Fort Pillow'' # Tyree Bell is frequently referred to as holding the rank of general. Bell in fact held the rank of Colonel at the time of the novel's setting. # Ben Robinson privately reflects that Martin Delany held the rank of major in 1864. Delany was not a major until the following year. Inconsistencies in "Gentlemen of the Shade" #Jerome writes on the wall near two of Jack's killings: "The Jewes are the men who will not be blamed for nothing." This is a clue from the historical Ripper case, however the graffitist famously wrote the key word as "Juwes." One of the police reports used the "Jewes" spelling, apparently without having seen the graffito. The "Juwes" spelling is reliably verified. Inconsistencies in Give Me Back My Legions! #Lucius Eggius starts to say "If these savages were going to lay down for us..." and Ceionius interrupts with "Lie down, you mean." They are speaking Latin, which would not have this problem.Give Me Back My Legions!, p. 30. #In the final scene, Claudia Pulchra is at one point referred to as "Julia Pulchra", but is back to her proper name in the next paragraph.Ibid., p. 304. Inconsistencies in The Guns of the South , demoted?]] #The first name of historical Confederate soldier Billy Beddingfield fluctuates between "Billy" and "Billie" in different passages. As he is a very obscure historical figure, it is not certain which spelling is correct. #By 1864, George Washington Custis Lee is a colonel in the Confederate Army, but he was promoted to Brigadier General in 1863, before the Point of Divergence. #W.H.F. Lee's nickname is given as "Rooney" on page 76, and "Roonie" on page 448. #On page 205, Robert E. Lee, on his return to Arlington House, remembers that "he had manumitted all the estate's nearly two hundred slaves on his father-in-law's death." In fact, Lee kept most of the Custis slaves until 1862, breaking up most slave families (in contradiction to Custis family tradition) and nearly touching off a slave revolt in the process. The Custis slaves were formally manumitted on December 29, 1862. #On page 253, Judah Benjamin implies that Édouard Thouvenel is the current Foreign Minister of France in the summer of 1864. Thouvenel left this office in 1862, nearly two years before the Point of Divergence. There's no reason to think he would have gotten his old job back at such short notice. #Custis Lee refers to "Congressman Oldham." This probably refers to William Oldham who was a member of the CS Senate, not the CS House, a position not alterable by the novel's Point of Divergence. #The Confederate Congress creates a bill for gradual emancipation of its entire slave population. The bill itself was modeled after a proposed act of legislation in slave-holding Brazil, though the real bill was not proposed until years after the setting of the novel, which Turtledove concedes in the novel's afterword. Inconsistencies in "Hail! Hail!" #In 1826, time-traveler Julius Marx mentally places young Abraham Lincoln's current whereabouts in Illinois rather than Indiana. Inconsistencies in The Hot War #On page 39 of Bombs Away, Jim Summers is once referred to as "Joe Summers." #In Bombs Away, during a conversation between Stephen Early and Harry Truman on January 23, 1951, Early descries Andrei Gromyko as the incumbent Soviet ambassador to the UN. However, Gromyko only served from 1946 to 1948, and the Point of Divergence is November 1950. There is no reason to think Gromyko would have gotten his old job back on such short notice.Bombs Away, pg. 63, HC. : "Hey, I may be 'Mr. Nyet', but at least I know that I was no longer at the UN in 1951."]] #In Bombs Away, Yuri Levitan of Radio Moscow begins a broadcast by announcing that it is Friday, 15 February 1951.Ibid., pg. 103 The date 15 February fell on a Thursday in 1951 (it fell on a Friday in 1952). #In Bombs Away, Ihor Shevchenko and his wife Anya refer to the MGB as "Chekists". Ihor later reflects that they usually called the Soviet secret police by the name the Tsars' secret police used.Ibid., pg. 198. The Cheka, however was the first Soviet secret police force, first established by Vladimir Lenin in December 1917. There were a number of police entities in the Russian Empire, but none by the name Cheka. #In Bombs Away, Aaron and Ruth Finch see the film The African Queen in April 1951.Ibid., pg. 307. In OTL, The African Queen had only begun filming in March 1951. While it had a limited release in December 1951 for Oscar consideration, it wasn't widely released in the U.S. until 1952. #While reminiscing about George Orwell's works, Cade Curtis notes that Orwell's one-time opponent Francisco Franco has since become an ally of the United States.Ibid., pg. 311, ebook. This scene takes place in 1951, when Franco's regime was still shunned by most nations. Franco did not became an American ally until 1953, when he signed the Pact of Madrid with Dwight Eisenhower. #A Hungarian POV character, introduced in Bombs Away under the name Isztvan Szolovits, suddenly becomes "Istvan Szolovits" (missing the z from his first name) in Fallout, and retains the shorter spelling throughout the remainder of the series. #A Soviet tank driver introduced as Gennady Kalyakin in the closing pages of Bombs AwayBombs Away, pg. 402, ebook. becomes ''Vladislav'' Kalyakin throughout the following volumes Fallout and Armistice.Fallout, loc. 739-768, 784-799, 1002-1062, 1826-1886, 2562, 2576, 3328, 2591-2637, 3333. #In Fallout, Gleb Sukhanov informs Vasili Yasevich that the MGB cannot find a record of Yasevich's service on file in Moscow.Fallout, loc. 4037, ebook. While it is true that Yasevich never served in the Red Army, and such a record didn't exist to begin with, neither character comments on the fact that Moscow was hit by several atomic bombs earlier in the year, and so a missing record is probably not unusual. #In Fallout, after the atomic bombing of Washington, DC, President Harry Truman announces that there aren't enough surviving members for a quorum, and that while Representatives may be appointed, Senators must be elected.Ibid., pg. 398, HC. Rules for the House of Representatives allow for a reduction in the number of members for a quorum in contemplation of frequent vacancies in that body. In theory, the House can never have too few members for a quorum. The Senate has no such parallel rule, however. Moreover, it is Senators who can be appointed by state governors, while Representatives must be elected. In Armistice, Truman corrects this error regarding the rules for replacing Representatives and Senators, but reaffirms the questionable quorum issue.Armistice, pg. 5, HC. #A West German captive in Siberia, introduced in Fallout as Maria Bauer, becomes Maria Grunfeld in Armistice. # , eternal pessimist.]]In Armistice, Prime Minister Clement Attlee says that Britain was scheduled to have a national election in 1951, and that Winston Churchill likely would have won.Armistice, p. 156. In fact, the required election had been held in 1950, before this series' POD. The OTL 1951 election was a snap election called by Attlee in an attempt buttress the Labour Party's narrow majority, and the victory by Churchill and his Conservatives was an upset. Inconsistencies in "The House That George Built" 1. While lamenting his wasted baseball potential, George Ruth complains that the hitter-friendly confines of the Baker Bowl made it impossible for him to pitch effectively when he finally made his major league debut with the Philadelphia Phillies. In discussing how easy it is to hit home runs in that stadium, Ruth at one point comments "Fuck, I hit six homers there myself. For a while, that was a record for a pitcher. But they said anybody could do it there." At the time of the story's Point of Divergence (1914), the major league record for home runs by a pitcher in a single season was seven. The record had been set by Jack Stivetts of the St. Louis Browns in 1890, and stood till 1931 in OTL when Wesley Ferrell of the Cleveland Indians hit nine. Inconsistencies in Household Gods #When Nicole Gunther realizes that the Roman Empire she's been transported to, resembles the one depicted in Frank Perrin's favorite 1950s movies, she remembers an image of "Victor Mature standing up to Peter Ustinov in a purple gown, while the choir's voices swelled in the background".Household Gods, p. 77. Although Mature and Ustinov were both in famous Roman history movies, they never starred in any together. The only film to feature both actors is The Egyptian (1954), which is set in Egypt nearly 600 years before the founding of Rome. This may be a deliberate character-error on the authors' part, as Nicole has been established to be quite naïve and confused. #An inscription on the Carnuntum public baths states that the building was sponsored by Marcus Annius Libo during his second consulship.Ibid., p. 107. Libo only had one consulship, in the year 128. #In the play The Judgment of Paris, the title character evaluates the beauty of the goddesses Juno, Athena, and Venus.Ibid, p. 266. As the play is being performed in Latin for a 2nd-century Roman audience, the second goddess should be called Minerva, not Athena. Inconsistencies in ''In the Presence of Mine Enemies'' #South Africa is described as an "ally" of Nazi Germany, rather than a conquered vassal like Great Britain. However, South Africa was an ally of Britain in 1939, and entered World War II against Germany in that year, before the novel's earliest known point of departure. It strains credibility that Germany would annex most of Africa yet leave a resource-rich defeated former enemy to manage its own affairs. The fact that South Africa is "Aryan dominated," and had its own considerable home-grown "Greyshirts" fascist movement, may have played a part in the country's continued independence, but this is never addressed. #At one point, Heinrich Gimpel calls Richard Klein "Robert". #Shortly after his death, we learn that Kurt Haldweim had been born in the "Ostmark when it was still Austria, and separate from Germany," suggesting that "Ostmark" is the default name for that part of the [[Greater German Reich (In the Presence of Mine Enemies)|German Reich]].In the Presence of Mine Enemies, pg. 50, HC. However, the name Austria is still used almost exclusively. #In the final scene of chapter IV, Heinrich Gimpel remembers that Herr Franks and his wife (parents of Lise Gimpel and Käthe Franks) were killed by a drunk driver "a few years before" 2010, suggesting a date between 2006 and 2008.Ibid., pg. 116. In the second scene of chapter V, Lise remembers her parents dying when she was pregnant with Francesca, who was born in 2002.Ibid., pg. 124. #A popular Berlin shop is called Ulbricht's. The possessive apostrophe does not exist in German, a realistic name for the shop would be Ulbrichts.Ibid., pgs. 251-253. Inconsistencies in "Islands in the Sea" #The monarch Telerikh of Bulgaria is described as "about fifty."''Departures'', p. 69 The story is set in 769, and Telerikh is usually considered to have been born in 706, making him 63. However, the history of the Bulgars is sketchy and incomplete, so Turtledove may have taken the other date from an unconfirmed source. #Theodore, a Catholic emissary says that Jesus stated that no more prophets would follow after John the Baptist. This statement is not in the Bible nor any known Christian dogma prior to the story setting.Ibid., p. 77 When asked about this statement, Turtledove stated that it was not a Christian belief, yet in the story he presents it as one. There is a possible logical explanation: Islam has an important doctrine that no more prophets would follow Muhammad, "the Seal of the Prophets," so that anyone who claims Prophet status is a heretic. In the "Islands" timeline, where Islam is a greater threat to Christianity than in OTL, Christianity might have ironically emulated Islam and developed a similar doctrine to discredit Muhammad himself. Inconsistencies in "It's the End of the World As We Know It, And We Feel Fine" #The main character's name changes from Willie to Willi in the story's closing paragraphs. Inconsistencies in Joe Steele #The term "Veep" is used to refer to the Vice President of the United States, 17 years before it was coined.Joe Steele, pg. 3, HC. #On his way to Albany in 1932, Mike Sullivan is going over state capitals in his mind, and mistakenly identifies Oregon's as Eugene rather than Salem.Ibid., pg. 13. #Associate Judge Willis Van Devanter's name is misspelled as "Van Deventer". #A narrative list of events in French history includes "the founding of the Third Revolution," when it's clear from the context that "Third Republic" is the intended term.Ibid., pg. 134. #On January 20, 1937, a reporter recites an old cliché "I must get out of these wet clothes and into a dry Martini," and the narration identifies this as being from a movie. In OTL, while this line may have been spoken before 1937, its first known cinematic usage was by actress Mae West in Every Day's a Holiday, released in December of that year.Ibid., pg. 141. #thumb|150px|[[Vince Scriabin. A Hammer by any other name would smell just as rotten.]]When Charlie Sullivan is awaiting the birth of his daughter Sarah, the narration at one point refers to him as Mike.Ibid., p. 197. #When John Nance Garner informs Vince Scriabin that he'll be sending Scriabin to Outer Mongolia, he pointedly calls Scriabin "Vince". Charlie Sullivan reflects that no one, including Joe Steele called Scriabin "Vince".Ibid., pg. 417. However, at the very beginning of the novel Steele does in fact call Scriabin "Vince".Ibid., pg. 2. Admittedly there is over 20 years between those two scenes. Inconsistencies in "The Last Reunion" #Historical Confederate General William MacRae appears, misspelled as "McRae." Inconsistencies in "The Maltese Elephant" #The story seems to be set in the 1920s in OTL, but contains a reference to San Francisco's Embarcadero Freeway, which opened in 1955. Inconsistencies in The Man With the Iron Heart : Talk About Your Bad Luck!]] #In a report on the Werewolves' destruction of the Nuremberg Palace of Justice, the British alternate judge (Norman Birkett) is listed as having been both killed and seriously wounded. The fate of the primary British judge (Geoffrey Lawrence) is never addressed, suggesting Turtledove meant to kill off one and wound the other. This could also be a deliberate illustration of the panicked confusion resulting from bloody carnage. #The German Freedom Front's execution of Matthew Cunningham is shown in an Indiana cinema newsreel before the feature film The Bells of St. Mary's. In the 1940s, no American cinema manager with an ounce of common sense would have released such a demoralizing, brutal, and bloody piece of footage for public consumption, let alone right before a light-hearted feel-good film. #The terrorist film of U.S. Army hostage Matthew Cunningham pleading for his life, at one point includes him giving his name as "Michael." #In chapter IV, set in 1945, Vladimir Bokov is said to be "a few years" older than 25, suggesting he was born around 1917, the year of the Russian Revolution. In chapter X, Bokov remembers liking Christmas "when he was a small, small boy before the Revolution." #Edna Lopatynski is introduced as being from Illinois but is later said to be from Ohio. #The communist party in Soviet-occupied Germany is called the Social Unity Party. In OTL, it was referred to in English as the Socialist Unity Party. The German name Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands does not leave any translation ambiguity. #During the November 1946 national election, Jerry Duncan reflects that if President Harry Truman is removed from office, and there is no Vice President, then the office will pass to the House Speaker. This line of succession was not established until 1947. From 1886 until then, the successor would have been the Secretary of State, in this case James Byrnes. Inconsistencies in "Must and Shall" #On July 21, 1864, just nine days after the point of divergence, the narration refers to Representative Thaddeus Stevens and Governors Andrew Johnson and John Andrew as "Senators."E.g., Counting Up, Counting Down, p. 58. Inconsistencies in "News From the Front" #A ''Washington Post'' report dated May 3, 1942 refers to Vice President Henry Wallace as "Veep".Atlantis and Other Places, p. 106. This term is not known to have existed before 1949. Inconsistencies in The Opening of the World #Gudrid's ability to understand the Bizogot language varies tremendously throughout the series. At some points she understands, or seems to understand, comments concerning her, and at others she demands translation for comments addressed directly to her. The same goes for the Marcovefa and the Raumsdalian language. At one point, in The Golden Shrine, she appears to understand a joke of Hamnet Thyssen's in Raumsdalian. A few pages later, she asked for a translation of what was being said in Raumsdalian into the dialect of Bizogot she spoke. #In the first scene in which they appear, the people on top of the Glacier accept raw musk ox meat from Hamnet Thyssen and eagerly eat it uncooked, then exclaim in surprise that it is "not man-meat!" In the next scene, they claim that they must always cook human meat because there is "a curse" on the practice of eating it raw. If this is the case, why did they greedily eat what they assumed was raw human flesh a very short time before? #The name of Sigvat II is spelled Sighvat in a few early passages in Beyond the Gap. Inconsistencies in "Ready for the Fatherland" # In the Ustaše-ruled fascist nation of Croatia, the late Poglavnik Ante Pavelić's image appears on the 20-dinar note."Ready for the Fatherland" in Counting Up, Counting Down, pg. 91-2. In OTL, the dinar was the pre-1941 Yugoslavian currency. The Ustaše changed the currency to the kuna when they took over. There's no reason to think they'd change it back. Inconsistencies in Ruled Britannia #Cardinal Robert Parsons is intensely suspicious of William Shakespeare possible associations with Edward Kelley and professes to know nothing of Shakespeare's religious or political sentiments. In 1580-81, Parsons traveled through England with his fellow English Jesuit, Saint Edmund Campion, ministering to the country's persecuted Catholic populace. The two visited Stratford and there is a great deal of evidence that they met with John Shakespeare, whose signature is believed to appear on a document developed by Campion saying the signatory would swear to remain a Catholic in his heart, obtaining the grace of Extreme Unction in the event a priest would be unavailable to give Last Rites at the moment of death. If the elder Shakespeare was indeed a devout Catholic even in the face of persecution, and an associate of Campion, the memory of the meeting should have assuaged Parsons' concerns about his son somewhat. #In his introduction, Don Diego Flores de Valdés is described as being in his 50s. Flores de Valdés was born around 1530 (exact date unknown), so in 1597 he would have been in his late 60s. #While performing in Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare observes that Juliet is about to wonder where Romeo is. Juliet's famous rhetorical question "Wherefore art thou, Romeo?" translates to modern English as "Why are you, Romeo?" I.e., why has Fate made him a member of an enemy clan. In popular culture, the line is often heard out of context and assumed to mean "Where are you, Romeo?" as if Romeo has gotten lost. The play's author would, of course, never be mistaken about the line's meaning, especially while performing in the play itself.Ruled Britannia, p. 39. #Shakespeare's play Prince of Denmark is performed in 1597, and Christopher Marlowe mentions that it had debuted on the stage one year earlier. The play copies Shakespeare's OTL Hamlet in every particular. Hamlet is thought to have been written in 1600, but this is not certain. Some Shakespeare scholars who believe that Shakespeare's first draft of Hamlet (which reportedly differed from the final product) was written as early as 1590; with the alternate Shakespeare never writing his English King plays (barring ''Richard III''), his schedule could have been accelerated. (The original Danish legend of Amlethus was quite popular, so it might have been inevitable that Shakespeare would touch it sooner or later.) On a similar note, Thomas Dekker's OTL play The Shoemaker's Holiday (1599) is performed in 1597 as The Cobbler's Holiday. '' comes early.]] #A more improbable example of the above is a reference to "the Scottish play," which Lope de Vega has already seen a few times by 1598.Ibid., p. 159-160. The lines which Vega hears in the scene are directly from Macbeth. Not only was the play not written until 1606, but it was written specifically to appeal to King James (as the play is a romanticised history of James' family), who did not ascend to the English throne until 1603. of her creativity?]] #After her release from the Tower of London, Queen Elizabeth delivers to her subjects an address which is nearly identical to the Tilbury Speech which she gave to English forces as they anxiously awaited news of the battle between the Royal Navy and the Spanish Armada. As she gave that speech before the POD (the defeat of her fleet) of Ruled Britannia, repeating the speech so closely would be plagiarising herself. An eloquent woman, it is questionable whether Elizabeth would have been willing to do so. #Elizabeth later attends a production of ''Boudicca'' at the Theatre. Earlier, Queen Isabella had attended a public showing of Lope de Vega's ''El Mejor Mozo de España''. In the 16th century, monarchs did not attend public performances of plays; theatre companies gave them private showings in their own palaces. #In chapter seven, Richard Burbage uses the expression "else I'm a Dutchman" to assert his words. This expression is anachronistic, as it refers to the Anglo-Dutch rivalries of the mid-to-late 17th century. #When Shakespeare first previews ''Boudicca'' for William and Robert Cecil, he describes the character of Caratach as the brother-in-law of Boudicca and warlord of the Iceni. He is immediately told to stop by Robert, who states "We know our Tacitus, Master Shakespeare."Ruled Britannia, pg. 202. Clearly they don't - Caratach, while mentioned in the Annals of Tacitus, had no relation to Boudicca or the Iceni, and was exiled from Britain nearly a decade before the Iceni Revolt. Caratach's play role is a carryover from John Fletcher's Bonduca, from which Turtledove heavily cribbed for his fictional Shakespearean play. Ironically, Cecil senior later needles Shakespeare for deviating from the source material by giving Caratach a fictitious nephew Hengo (another Fletcher invention). and Queen Isabella. England's first interracial royal couple?]] #Queen Isabella is introduced as “swarthy, even for a Spaniard – to English eyes she seemed not far from a Moor. The enormous, snowy-white ruff she wore only accented her dark skin.”Ibid., pg. 7 Even allowing for hyperbole, the description could hardly be less accurate to the real Isabella, who had pale skin, red hair and green eyes. #Contrary to popular belief in the English-speaking parts of North America, only ‘z’, ‘ce’ and ‘ci’ are pronounced like the English ‘th’ in Castilian dialect, while ‘s’ is still pronounced like ‘s’. There is a Spanish dialect that pronounces ‘z’, ‘ce’, ‘ci’ and ‘s’ as ‘th’, but it is Southern Andalusian, not Castilian. Lope de Vega, who was born and raised in Madrid (Castile), and Don Diego Flores de Valdés, who was from Asturias (on the opposite side of Spain from Andalusia), pronounced their ‘s’ as in English. Yet at different points in RB, Valdés “lisps” his Englishibid, page 60, Burbage mocks de Vega as Shakespeare’s “''lithping'' friend”ibid, page 29, and Lope even thinks of his own language as made of “sweet, lisping sounds”ibid, page 9. #It is said that the Spanish garrison in London imports wine from Spain because vineyards can’t flourish in the local climate,ibid, page 11 and de Vega laughs at himself later for imagining grapes being grown in London.ibid, page 102 These lines echo the widely circulated idea that vineyards can’t be grown in England since the end of the Medieval Warm Period, but this is incorrect. In reality, vineyards have been present in England since the reign of Henry VIII to this day. #While the word “maricón” (Spanish for faggot) might have just entered the Spanish language by 1597 – it is first registered in the early 17th century - it did not acquire its current meaning until almost two centuries later and was far less insulting in origin, being closer to “unmanly” or “coward”. The several instances where the word is used in its modern sense in the novel''Ruled Britannia, pages 14, 94, 119 and 170 are anachronistic. . A man cursed to bear the name of his conqueror in this life, and of his murderer in the following.]] #On page 14, a background character calls Philip Stubbes “Parsons” Stubbes. #Baltasar Guzmán mentions that Edward Kelley was "relaxed to the Inquisition for punishment."Ibid, pg. 22 Convicts were ‘relaxed’ '''by' the Spanish Inquisition to the 'secular arm’ for punishment, not the other way around. Since the English Inquisition was closely modeled on its Spanish counterpart in RB’s canon, this drastic procedural difference is unlikely. #Even more glaring than in ''Hamlet's'' case, Lope de Vega’s La Dama Boba (1613) and El Mejor Mozo de España (1625) has been sped up by decades, with both being performed during the course of the novel.Ibid, pgs. 31 and 156 Ironically, Lope claims that he'd write faster if his military duties did not take so much of his time.ibid, page 27 . We know exactly what you'd do with more free time, and most people don't use the pen for that.]] #After playing a part in La Dama Boba, Enrique tells Lope that he "especially admired Nisea's transformation from a boob to a woman with a mind – and a good mind – of her own."Ibid, page 54 (Italicisation ours.) In the actual play, it is the titular "boob lady", Finea, who undergoes such transformation, while her sister Nise is introduced as an intelligent and educated woman and becomes dumber over time. While the change in release (1597 versus 1613) and the nine years since the POD make the butterfly effect an attractive explanation, the title, location, characters and quoted lines are otherwise identical to the historical play. #Flores de Valdés addresses Shakespeare as "Chakespeare". "Like most Spaniards," – the narration goes – "he made a hash of the sh sound at the start of Shakespeare’s name and pronounced it as if it had three syllables."ibid, page 59 The Hispanicized pronunciation of Shakespeare indeed trades Sh for Ch, but is only two syllables long: Chéspir (CHESS-peer). #Will Kemp uses the phrase "spend a penny" meaning to go to the bathroom. This slang term came about with the invention of coin-operated toilets in the 1850s. #Lope de Vega hears John Walsh give a seditious Bible-based speech from the Book of Revelation, which the narrative identifies as "Revelations," an incorrect plural. This particular literary inaccuracy is not unique to Turtledove by any means. #In this timeline, Shakespeare created the character Falstaff for The Merry Wives of Windsor (which is set in no particular year), without having written Henry IV. This is improbable; Falstaff, while fictional, was based on a composite of two acquaintances of King Henry V in the early 15th century, named Sir John Oldcastle and Sir John Fastolfe, the latter being the source of the name. #After Queen Elizabeth is freed from the Tower, it is said that she was able to follow the conversations of her Spanish captors because of her knowledge of French and Italian. She shouldn't need to resort to this: At least two separate contemporary sources state that she was schooled in Spanish by her childhood tutor, Roger Ascham, and spoke it fluently. Inconsistencies in "Someone is Stealing the Great Throne Rooms of the Galaxy" ," you will definitely NOT be feeling lucky!]] #Rufus Q Shupilluliumash uses Google to look up information on RD and hits the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button. This takes him to information on Research and Development. Hitting the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button for the search term "RD" will in fact take a user to a disambiguation page on Wikipedia. #According to Erasmus Z Utnapishtim, the theft of the throne room of Versailles was the most recent throne room theft when Rufus Q Shupilluliumash was sent to solve the crime. However, it is on Gould IV that the graffiti reads "Next Stop--Galactic Central!" At the time Rufus was put on the job, the raid on Galactic Central had not yet been attempted, so the thieves' next stop was in fact Earth, since this was the site of the most recent heist. Inconsistencies in Southern Victory #In the prologue of How Few Remain, Ambrose Burnside and Joseph Hooker both serve as wing commanders in the Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Camp Hill. On the OTL Maryland Campaign, both Hooker's I Corps and Burnside's IX Corps were part of the army's right wing. Burnside commanded the wing, when the wing system was used at all; Hooker, who was junior to Burnside, did not serve as a wing commander. #In How Few Remain, during the Battle of Camp Hill on October 1, 1862, George Custer reflects on the fact that his fiancé, Libbie Bacon, is trying to break him of the habit of swearing. In OTL, Custer didn't meet Bacon formally until Thanksgiving 1862, and didn't ask her to marry him until the last week of December.How Few Remain, pg. 5 #thumb|left|Why did [[Jeb Stuart Jr. lie about his age?]]In How Few Remain, Jeb Stuart Jr. tells Thomas Jackson that he is 17 years old. The historical Stuart Jr. was born in 1860 and would therefore have been 21 at the time. If he were to lie about his age, it would be to his advantage to make himself older, not younger. #In chapter 3 of How Few Remain, George Custer's pet Stonewall is introduced as a clever, felonious raccoon.Ibid, p. 72-73, HC. In chapter 13, Stonewall has become a very conventional obedient dog.Ibid., p. 309, HC. #In four separate scenes in How Few Remain, Gilbert Moxley Sorrel, chief of staff to President James Longstreet, escorts General Thomas Jackson into Longstreet's office. That duty would fall to Longstreet's personal secretary, not his chief of staff. #thumb|85px|right|Just whose side are you on, [[Wilhelm I (Southern Victory)|Your Highness?]]In How Few Remain, Alfred von Schlieffen notes that Kaiser Wilhelm I is one of the last surviving soldiers to have served under Napoleon Bonaparte in the early 19th Century. While Prussia was allied with France for a time during the Napoleonic Wars, it joined the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon in 1812, having previously been a member of the First and Fourth Coalitions. Wilhelm I didn't join the Prussian Army until 1814 when he was 17 years old so he never fought under Napoleon (although Wilhelm's father did make him an officer when he was only ten, which would have been concurrent to the period in which Prussia was a vassal of France). In fact, Wilhelm fought against Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo and was one of its last surviving veterans when he died in 1888.How Few Remain, pg. 51. # In How Few Remain, when the US Army tasked with suppressing the Mormon Revolt in the Utah Territory encounter the wrecked train lines, Colonel James Chatham Duane of the Army Engineers inspects the damage done. However, he is introduced as John Duane.How Few Remain, pg. 135. # In How Few Remain, when Theodore Roosevelt is first introduced to Lt. Colonel Henry Welton, it is stated that the Lt. Colonel is 45 years old. Henry Welton was born in 1827, which means he was 54 years old by 1881.How Few Remain, pg. 159. # In How Few Remain, which is set in the early 1880s, Frederick Douglass observes his neighbor, Daniel, riding a high-wheel bicycle, which he called an "ordinary." That term wasn't used until the mid to late-1890s, when the standard "safety bicycle" entered usage and the term "ordinary" was used to differentiate the established bicycles from the newfangled safety bicycles. # When Abraham Lincoln meets with British Ambassador Lord Lyons in the White House in the prologue of American Front, he makes reference to a French-backed "tinpot emperor" of Mexico, presumably a reference to Maximilian I. The scene takes place in 1862; Maximilian was installed in OTL as Mexican Emperor in 1864. # , center. Just how old is he?]]When we first meet Jake Featherston in 1914 in American Front, he reflects that the Confederate States manumitted the slaves when he was a boy. Given what we know about the manumission schedule, this suggests he could have been born as early as the mid-1870s.American Front, pg. 17, pb. He runs for President in 1921. In 1924, he is described as being in his mid-30s, suggesting that he is between 34 and 36 years old.The Center Cannot Hold, pg. 26, HC. The minimum age requirement to serve in that office under the C.S. Constitution was 35, just as in the U.S. Constitution, which means that, if the latter estimate is correct, Featherston would not have been eligible to serve even if he'd won in 1921. Moreover, this means that Featherston would have been born in the late 1880s, which contradicts the earlier information about his age. # In American Front, Flora Hamburger works in the Socialist Party headquarters located in New York's 10th Ward. In the next volume Walk in Hell, the ward has been inexplicably renumbered as the 14th. #Beggs, Sequoyah is a setting in American Front. In OTL, this Oklahoma settlement was founded in 1899 as a stop on the St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco) Railway (an entity founded in 1876), and its namesake was C.H. Beggs, the vice president of the railway, himself a resident of St. Louis. All of which is counter-intuitive to the history of this timeline. # , not Harold Stassen!]]In American Front, it is stated that Eugene Debs had twice run unsuccessfully for president before the Great War, before which the two most recent elections were in 1908 and 1912. However, in Blood and Iron, it is stated that Debs had lost to Theodore Roosevelt twice in 1912 and 1916, but there is no reference to the 1908 run. # have met citizenship requirements to be eligible for election as President of the CSA?]]In American Front, Doroteo Arango, the Radical Liberal Party's candidate for President of the Confederate States in the 1915 election, although he later lived in Chihuahua, was born in the Mexican state of Durango, which was not one of the states bought by the CSA in 1881, so his status as a citizen of the Confederate States is counter-intuitive. # In American Front, "Lyman Baum, a little skinny guy with a black beard" is a US fighter pilot on the Canadian front in the same squadron as Jonathan Moss. This brief description is consistent with a 20-something, but Turtledove insisted in an on-line chat that the character is the historical figure L. Frank Baum who wrote The Wizard of Oz. L. Frank Baum was 58 years old in 1914, not the young man described here. In Return Engagement, Moss remarks that during the Great War the field of combat aviation had been too new to include any seasoned older pilots. really is too old to be flying combat missions. At the last mission debriefing, he reported four Canadian scouts on flying broomsticks, two runaway observation balloons, and a flying house.]] # Riviere-du-Loup is called as such by all characters from American Front through In at the Death, but in 1850, the British changed the official name to Fraserville, which was not changed back in OTL until 1919. However, that probably had no effect on what the Francophone locals called it, and in any case, the Republic of Quebec would have changed it back, if not the Americans beforehand. #In Walk in Hell, New York Governor MacFarlane appoints Daniel Miller to serve out the term of Myron Zuckerman, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.Walk in Hell, pg. 163-164. In OTL, the Constitution requires that members of the House must be elected. This includes replacement members. A governor cannot make that appointment. No reference is made to any Constitutional amendments to allow this procedure in the series. # flag. The gaffe over separate references made to a 34-star and a 33-star flag in Walk in Hell became one of Harry Turtledove's most famous inconsistencies.]]In Walk in Hell, the flag of the United States is mentioned to have 33 stars in one scene and 34 in another. # In Walk in Hell, Reggie Bartlett and Ralph Briggs hear US soldiers singing "Roll Out the Barrel" in 1915.Walk in Hell, pg. 256, mmp. The song was first composed in 1927 and the original lyrics were written in 1934. It could be that this is simply a different song created from the same obvious expression. # In Walk in Hell, the Order of Lee is the second highest award that a Confederate Army man can receive; right below the Confederate Cross. However in Return Engagement the Order of Albert Sidney Johnston is said to be the second highest award. However, more than 20 years pass between these stories, during which things may change. # In Walk in Hell, Eduard Dietl is introduced as an Austro-Hungarian military official.Walk in Hell, pg. 344. In OTL Dietl was born in Bavaria in Germany and was never connected with Austria. # is an improbable choice indeed to serve in Theodore Roosevelt's wartime Cabinet.]]In Breakthroughs, Josephus Daniels serves as Secretary of the Navy in Theodore Roosevelt's administration during the Great War. Daniels was born in North Carolina and should therefore have been a Confederate national (although in OTL, his father was killed by Confederate soldiers, which could explain his migration--this is never addressed). Furthermore, a ship is named in his honor in the early 1940s. At that time in US history, ships were only named for a person posthumously. In OTL, Daniels did not die until 1948, and Turtledove typically allows his historical figures to die of natural causes at the same time as in OTL (unless they are killed, or another special circumstance intervenes). It could be that either Daniels died earlier or that ship name rules were different in the ATL, but it is never addressed. # In Walk in Hell, General Alonzo Kent warns the Mormons after their defeat that further resistance will result in Utah being turned into the desert it was before, at which point Joseph Shook quips that the USA will "call that peace." Paul Mantarakis does not recognize the quote, which is interesting, since Captain Cecil Schneider informed him of it in American Front. # ]]A three-fingered sailor named Mordecai appears in Walk in Hell. He appears again in The Victorious Opposition, but his name is now spelled "Mordechai". The character is probably meant to be historical hall-of-fame pitcher "Three-Finger" Mordecai Brown, who did not spell his name with an "h". # In Breakthroughs, Theodore Roosevelt's Vice President is named "Kennan," introduced as he is sworn in for his second term.Breakthroughs, pg. 120. However, VP Walter McKenna, an "amiable non-entity who was almost as fat as Congressman Taft" appears in the following volume Blood and Iron.Blood and Iron, pg. 397.. # From the minute the Republic of Quebec is proclaimed in Breakthroughs, their flag is four white fleurs-de-lys and a white cross on a blue field. This is said to have been the previous Canadian provincial flag. The flag was not adopted by OTL Quebec Province until 1948. # In Breakthroughs, we are told that Texas like several other Confederate States, is "dry", i.e., has outlawed alcohol.Breakthroughs, pg. 354. However, in The Center Cannot Hold, we are told that alcohol is legal.The Center Cannot Hold, pg. 312, HC. (As there is a gap of at least a decade between the two references, this is probably one of the least problematic of Turtledove's inconsistencies.) # In Breakthroughs, as Reggie Bartlett is retreating from Sequoyah into Texas, it is mentioned that among the retreating confederate solders are Indians like the Kiowas and Comanches who'd attached themselves to the CS Army.Breakthroughs, pg. 81 Paperback. In How Few Remain, Confederate Captain Jethro Weathers states that the Comanches are residents of the USA not the CSA, and that they've been raiding Texas and killing people.How Few Remain, pg. 12 Paperback. # In Blood and Iron, it is mentioned that on July 4, 1918, Houston would become the 36th state in the Union, with Kentucky having been the 35th. However, the maps at the beginning of each novel in the Great War series show 33 states, with no new admissions prior to the readmission of Kentucky. # In Blood and Iron, Abner Dowling considers General Custer's use of the word "Reb" to refer to Confederates anachronistic in the extreme. However, during the Great War, just a few short years earlier, the term was used universally among US characters, including those as young as Mary Jane Enos, and by Dowling himself. # The Spotswood Hotel is identified as the "Spottswood" in Blood and Iron. As Turtledove's hotel is located on Eight and Main in Richmond, Virginia, the original location of the Spotswood, the extra "T" is a typo.Blood and Iron, pg. 454. # In Blood and Iron, Hosea Blackford is stated to be 15 years older than Upton Sinclair (born 1878), which implies that Blackford was born in 1863. However, in The Victorious Opposition, Blackford is said to be nearing his 74th birthday in 1934, which implies that he was born in either late 1860 or early 1861. Nonetheless, Blackford claims to have been born "after the War of Secession, although just barely." The War of Secession ended in 1862. # In The Center Cannot Hold, the Confederate state of Tennessee is reported to have voted for Calvin Coolidge in the 1928 US Presidential election, even though it is part of another nation. # In The Center Cannot Hold, Mary McGregor Pomeroy is introduced for the first time as a viewpoint character, and her age is stated to be 13 (in 1924). In Drive to the East, she is said to be 35 (in 1942). If the first age reference were correct, she would have been born in 1911 and would only be 31 in 1942. If the second were correct, she would have been born in 1907. # In The Center Cannot Hold, when Hipolito Rodriguez introduces his family upon beginning his POV role in the story, he has a daughter named Guadalupe. After being introduced, Guadalupe never appears or is even mentioned in any scene involving the Rodriguez family. # In The Center Cannot Hold, it is mentioned that Rita Martin's first husband was named Joe Habicht. However, in Return Engagement, she states that her first husband's name was Ed. # In The Center Cannot Hold, Return Engagement, Drive to the East, and The Grapple, Sam Carsten frequently mentions visiting Ireland during the Great War as part of the U.S. Navy's campaign to smuggle weapons to the Irish uprising against the British. Carsten undertook no such mission during the war, though George Enos Senior did. : A Party flip-flopper?]] # In The Center Cannot Hold, Abner Dowling speaks with "a distant relative of the last Democratic President" (the last Dem POTUS being Theodore Roosevelt) who is wheelchair bound as a result of poliomyelitis, and is Secretary of War in the Democratic Hoover Administration. Presumably this refers to Franklin D. Roosevelt. But two books later, in Return Engagement, Roosevelt first appears by name for the first time and is introduced as a lifelong Socialist Party member. # In The Center Cannot Hold, Jake Featherston makes a campaign speech in which he says the US "took away two states and carved chunks out of three more". In addition to the annexation of Kentucky and Sequoyah, according to the maps provided in the front cover, four Confederate states lost territory: Virginia (northern part annexed to West Virginia), Arkansas (most of the bank of the Mississippi annexed to Missouri), Sonora (a wedge of territory annexed to New Mexico) and Texas (the US state of Houston). However, the speech probably fulfilled its goal of incensing his audience, so precise numbering didn't matter. # In The Center Cannot Hold, the U.S. state of Kansas has been a Democratic stronghold since the Second Mexican War.The Center Cannot Hold, pg. 217-218. However, in In at the Death, Kansas is described as a traditional ''Republican'' stronghold.In at the Death, pg. 517. # In The Victorious Opposition, Mary McGregor Pomeroy considers smoking a cigarette while she relaxes in her Rosenfeld flat. In Return Engagement, she purports to hate cigarettes. # In the same volume, Mary is fond of Queen Zixi of Ix, a children's book by author L. Frank Baum, who previously appeared in American Front as Great War pilot Lyman Baum (see above). In OTL, the Ix book was written in 1904 and was a spinoff of The Wizard of Oz (1900), which in turn was inspired by the architectural exhibits at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, an event unlikely to have happened in this timeline. # Wilhelm III of Germany.]]In The Victorious Opposition, the new Kaiser of Germany is called "Kaiser Friedrich I" of Germany and "Kaiser Friedrich Wilhelm V" of Prussia. While Wilhelm II's eldest son in OTL was named Friedrich Wilhelm, he was known as Crown Prince Wilhelm. Thus had the Hohenzollern Dynasty remained in power in Germany, the Crown Prince would have been known as Wilhelm III upon his ascension. Moreover, there had been other emperors named Friedrich (Frederick in English), and he would not have been the first. Furthermore, none of the OTL Kaisers used a separate name-number combination for their Prussian kingly title. The series is not even consistent on his name, as he is briefly mentioned in Return Engagement as "Kaiser Friedrich Wilhelm," mixing and matching his two previously stated titles. After that, he is simply called "the Kaiser." For clarity, the moderators of this wiki have chosen to call him Wilhelm III. # According to the treaty between the US and CS at the end of the Great War, the Rappahannock River became the new border between the nations and their respective states of West Virginia and Virginia. However, the maps included in each novel of the American Empire and Settling Accounts series show a border between the two that does not conform to the Rappahannock. # thumb|left|170px|[[George Patton (Southern Victory)|George Patton: It's not about dying for your country, it's about making them die for theirs - but which country is that?]]In the Settling Accounts series, George Patton is a Confederate General in the Second Great War. If this person is meant to be the historical figure, he should in fact be a citizen of the United States, as he was born in California. Though some assume his family's migration patterns in this timeline were affected by different paths of history, there is no hard evidence to support this idea. #In Return Engagement, Henry Wallace is the U.S. Secretary of the Interior under President Al Smith, who is killed at the end of the novel.Return Engagement, pg. 449-450, HC. In the sequel, Drive to the East, Harry Hopkins is the Secretary of the Interior under Smith's successor, President Charles W. La Follette.Drive to the East, pgs. 133-134, HC. While it's possible that Wallace resigned after Smith's death and was succeeded by Hopkins, the change is an abrupt one. Moreover, Flora Blackford, who'd attempted to contact Wallace in Return Engagement, makes no reference to this change in Drive to the East when Hopkins appears before the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War. # In Drive to the East, Jonathan Moss is imprisoned in Andersonville Prison Camp in Georgia along with other officers ranging in rank from lieutenant to colonel. While it is certainly possible that Andersonville could have changed between its 1862 opening and the scenes' 1942 setting, it should be mentioned that Andersonville was originally a prison camp for enlisted men, and that no officers were kept there. # In Drive to the East, Scipio says in 1942 that Jerry Dover had known him for 20 years, so his white manager should not be surprised that Scipio could speak like an educated white. However, Scipio got his job at the Huntsman's Lodge and met Dover in the summer of 1933, only 9 years before. # In The Grapple, a US military installation in Utah is named Fort Custer, and reference is made to George Armstrong Custer having been the commander of US forces in Utah during the Second Mexican War. In fact he was second-in-command to John Pope. However, the POV in this scene is Armstrong Grimes, who isn't perfectly informed. # At the beginning of The Grapple, Hipolito Rodriguez reflects that his son Miguel is serving in Virginia and his son Jorge is serving in New Mexico. When Jorge debuts as a viewpoint character later in the novel, it is he who is assigned to the Army of Northern Virginia # In The Grapple, it is mentioned during Abner Dowling's drive towards Camp Determination that he and Daniel MacArthur had attempted to quell the rebellion in Houston prior to the 1941 plebiscite that returned it to the CSA. However, in The Victorious Opposition, it was Irving Morrell who was sent to Houston with MacArthur. # In The Grapple, Irving Morrell's drive through Georgia to Atlanta is stymied by heavy rains. The OTL fall of 1943 was not a particularly rainy time in Georgia, and Turtledove usually has natural events of OTL happen the same in TL-191, e.g. the San Francisco earthquakes and the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. # In The Grapple, Congresswoman Flora Blackford's office is swept for "bugs" by a team of soldiers which includes Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. These historical figures were born right around the time this book takes place. However, this anachronism is so blatantly obvious that most fans have agreed that Turtledove is just having a joke. # In The Grapple, Sam Carsten delivers arms to "Fidel", who is implicitly Fidel Castro. In OTL, Castro's father was from Spain. He arrived in Cuba to help put down the revolution of the 1890s (although this has been disputed by one of Castro's sisters). As Cuba was sold to the CSA in the 1870s, the senior Castro's motivation for traveling to Cuba, and thus Fidel's birth in Southern Victory, is rather unlikely. # Near the end of The Grapple George Enos, Jr. moves into the position of loader on a 40mm anti-aircraft gun and Ekberg is introduced as the new shell-jerker. Near the beginning of In at the Death, Marco Angelucci is introduced as the new shell-jerker. # In The Grapple, during the Second Great War, Finland launches a nationalist uprising against Russia, and Germany promises to recognize a provisional Finnish government, suggesting that Finland is still part of the Russian Empire and is on the verge of independence. However, in In at the Death, the next volume of the series, Lord Halifax states that Russia lost Finland after the Great War. # In In at the Death, U.S. troops level the small Georgia town of Hutchings. In OTL, however, the populated place in that location is called Hutchins without the "g".In at the Death, pg. 119, TPB. # Upon the death of King Charles XI of France in In at the Death, he is succeeded by Louis XIX. A Louis XIX had already reigned in France in 1830, albeit for a mere 20 minutes, and French royalists typically deferred to such come-and-go monarchs in their numerical listings, so the 1944 king should be Louis XX. # During In at the Death, while attending a joint committee on the Conduct of War, Flora Blackford hears a senator grilling US Navy Captain Hyman Rickover about new German submersibles, capable of revolutionizing sub warfare. However, he refers to the German Navy as the Kriegsmarine. The proper name of the German Navy under the Kaisers was Kaiserliche Marine, while the Kriegsmarine was the title of the German Navy under the Nazis, who never existed in this timeline.In at the Death, pg. 354 Hardcover. Inconsistencies in "The Star and the Rockets" #Historical minor leaguers Frank and José Gallardo's last names are spelled "Galardo". This error may not be unique to Turtledove. #Joe Bauman reads the Edgar Pangborn story "Pick-up for Olympus" (in The Supernatural Reader), but calls the story "Pick-up from Olympus". Inconsistencies in Supervolcano #In Eruption, as Vanessa Ferguson flees Denver, she notes that the Buckingham Square Shopping Center is a few blocks east from where she is.Eruption, pg. 204, HC. In fact, the Buckingham Square Shopping Center was torn down in 2008, and replaced with an outdoor shopping complex, although in fairness to Turtledove, a Google search would lead one to believe Buckingham was still there. #In Eruption, page 135, Colin Ferguson is responding to an e-mail from a Lt. Stu Ayers who he calls to verify it was from him. On pages 392-393 of Eruption, Ayers becomes "Lou" Ayers at a meeting with the Torrance PD. #In Things Fall Apart, Marshall Ferguson reflects that his father had got a bass player, a graphic artist, and a wannabe writer rather than another police officer like himself. This would be referring to his brother Rob, his sister Vanessa and himself but in all other parts of the book and the previous two, Vanessa was a technical writer and/or editor.Things Fall Apart, pg. 71, HC. #In Eruption, the diner in Guilford, Maine is called "Calvin's Kitchen". In the two subsequent books, there is an unacknowledged change in ownership and it's called "Caleb's Kitchen". #In Eruption, Camp Constitution is said to be located between Muskogee, Oklahoma and Fayetteville, Arkansas while in All Fall Down it is said to be between Muskogee and Fort Smith, Arkansas. Since the three cities form roughly an equilateral triangle, it is possible Turtledove meant for the camp to be located somewhere in the middle. On the other hand, he has the Arkansas River flood its banks in All Fall Down forcing the camp to be evacuated so he may have changed its location between novels to make it closer to the river.All Fall Down, pgs. 106-112. #James Henry Ferguson is at one point referred to in the narration as "John Henry"All Fall Down, p. 397 and another at point as "James Harvey".Things Fall Apart, p. 196. #In All Fall Down, Daniel Olson says that seeing the aftermath of the Supervolcano eruption reminds him of how William Sherman promised to wreck Georgia so well that even a crow would have to carry provisions. While Olson may be a competent geologist, his American Civil War knowledge is imperfect. This quote is reliably attributed to another Union general, Philip Sheridan, regarding the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, not Georgia. Turtledove often has characters misattribute famous quotes and than be corrected by other characters, but in this case no one sets Olson to rights.All Fall Down, pg. 186, HC. Inconsistencies in Through Darkest Europe #Early on, Khalid al-Zarzisi reflects that the Seljuk Sultan rules from Constantinople, implying that the city is normally thought of by that name.Through Darkest Europe, p. 25, HC. Later it is established that this city is called Istanbul not Constantinople. At one point, Khalid has to have Annarita Pezzola remind him of the older name. #A list of Asian nations sending delegates to Rome includes "Nippon".Ibid., p. 86, HC. The remainder of the novel is filled with references to Japan, never Nippon. #Dawud ibn Musa, reflecting on the Italian government's use of half-truths and downright untruths in its comforting propaganda, remarks "The country that lies together, tries together." Khalid al-Zarzisi responds with one word, "Poetry."Ibid., p. 248, HC. They are speaking Arabic, so Dawud's words could not have made this English rhyme. Inconsistencies in "Trantor Falls" 1. Turtledove's contribution to Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe includes several characters who are Speakers of the Second Foundation. Turtledove's Speakers refer to the "mind-touch." In Asimov's work, Second Foundationers use the word "mentalics" to refer to that ability. The phrase "mind-touch" comes from the novel Pebble in the Sky, which is set in the same universe but countless centuries earlier. According to Asimov canon, the mind-touch and mentalics are supposed to be the same ability; however, rather significant differences in the nature of that ability appear between the two works, perhaps as a consequence of Asimov's own inconsistency. Inconsistencies in ''The Two Georges'' #There are some misspellings in the frontispiece maps, including "Brithish East Africa" and "Guatamala". Also, Georgestown retains its original name Georgetown, which it still goes by in OTL. #Jamaica seems to be a Spanish colony on the frontispiece map, but it was a thoroughly Anglicised British colony at the POD. While colonial empires can fall and be taken over by new mother countries, this particular case is inconsistent with the novel's overall theme. The British Empire is portrayed as an impervious unstoppable juggernaut, constantly confounding its enemies and adding onto its dominion. #Late in the novel, the Royal American Mounted Police is referred to as the Royal North American Mounted Police.''The Two Georges'', p. 338, HC. Inconsistencies in Videssos #At the opening of The Misplaced Legion, Marcus Aemilius Scaurus has a thought about what happened "after Hannibal crushed the Romans at Carthage." The correct allusion should be "...at Cannae."Videssos Cycle: Volume One, p. 19. #In the Legion Cycle, Mizizios tells Scaurus of an Avtokrator of Videssos named Laskaris, who sacked Mashiz 739 years before the arrival of the Ronams, taking the helmet from the corpse of Rishtaspa, King of Kings of Makuran, which became a trophy for the Empire of Videssos.Videssos Cycle: Volume One, pg. 82; The Misplaced Legion, chapter IV. In the same scene, Scaurus reflects that Laskaris' portrait looks more like a veteran underofficer than an Emperor, a sentiment repeated in two later volumes of the Cycle.Videssos Cycle: Volume Two, pgs. 310, 814-815; The Legion of Videssos, chapter XI; Swords of the Legion, chapter XIV. In all other Videssos series, these descriptions are reassigned to Stavrakios (who reigned 11 centuries before the Legion Cycle), and Laskaris is never mentioned. (Stavrakios' only mentions in the Legion Cycle are in An Emperor for the Legion chapter VIII, referencing his conquest of Agder,Volume One, p. 505. and in The Legion of Videssos, chapter VI, stating that the Halogai were not a threat.Volume Two, p. 149; The Legion of Videssos, chapter VI.) Implicitly, Turtledove retconned Laskaris into Stavrakios, deliberately or otherwise. #In Swords of the Legion, chapter XI, Balsamon names the Avtokrator who directly preceded Krispos as "Anthimos II."Volume Two, p. 732. In Krispos Rising, this Avtokrator appears directly, and is called Anthimos III throughout. #A minor character in Krispos Rising has his name abruptly change from Sabellios to Sebellios within his only scene.The Tale of Krispos, p. 123-124. #An early passage in "The Seventh Chapter" refers to the "Empire of Opsikion" rather than the correct Empire of Videssos.Counting Up, Counting Down, p. 345. Inconsistencies in "Vilcabamba" #Early on, a character is introduced as Secretary of Alien Affairs, and the narration explains that the office was called Secretary of State before the Krolp first came to Earth. Later on, the narration refers to this character as Secretary of State. Inconsistencies in The War Between the Provinces strategy was to confuse the Southron foe by using multiple nicknames.]] #It is implied several times throughout the series that the unicorn supplants the horse entirely in this fantasy universe. Donkeys exist and are noted for their marked contrast to unicorns. Yet on a handful of occasions the narrative refers to horses when unicorns would make more sense given the context. #Usually, the organization of Detinan armies is army-wing-brigade-regiment as in the American Civil War, but at certain points a divisional level seems to have been added between brigade and wing. #The analog of California is at different points called Baja Province and The Golden Province. It could be that the latter is simply a nickname as in OTL, but such is not made clear. #In Sentry Peak, "Marquis" Joseph the Gamecock is mentioned. In Marching Through Peachtree, Joseph is a count, and apparently always has been. # .]]In Marching Through Peachtree, an obvious analog of Jeb Stuart is referenced as Jeb the Beauty. In Advance and Retreat, the same character is referred to as Jeb the Steward.Advance and Retreat, p. 45. While it is not impossible for one man to have two nicknames, the abrupt transition suggests author forgetfulness rather than anything else. #Similar to the "Jeb" matter, an analog of Jubal Early is referenced in Marching Through Peachtree under the name Early the Jubilant. In Advance and Retreat he is referenced as "Jubal the Late". That he has suffered two crushing defeats in the interim, may explain the change to a pessimistic nickname. Inconsistencies in The War That Came Early # Various characters say "chinga" and "mamacita" in scenes set in the Spanish Civil WarE.g., Hitler's War, p. 18 & 443; West and East, p. 189. These words are Mexican regionalisms and so unlikely to be used by Spaniards. # In Hitler's War, Colonel Friedrich Hossbach is shown as Adolf Hitler's adjutant at the Munich Conference in September 1938.Hitler's War, pg. 11. In fact, Hossbach had been dismissed in January 1938 and replaced by Major Rudolf Schmundt, after the initial Spanish POD but well before the relevant POD. # In Hitler's War, German radio operator Theo Kessler mysteriously becomes Theo Hossbach upon his second appearance, and retains this name throughout the series.Hitler's War, pg. 25 for "Theo Kessler", pg. 78 as "Theo Hossbach". # In Hitler's War, the German submarine U-30 sinks the American ship [[SS Athenia (The War That Came Early)|SS Athenia]], in an event based on OTLHitler's War, pg. 269.. However, the real Athenia was a British ship. # One of the conspirators in the Generals' Plot against Adolf Hitler in January 1939 is "General Fritsche."Hitler's War, p. 359. Circumstantial evidence suggests that this refers to Werner von Fritsch, who did not have an e at the end of his name # In Hitler's War, Constantine Jenkins warns Peggy Druce that if she flees to Romania she'll have to "worry about Marshal Antonescu's goons"Hitler's War, p. 387. The scene takes place in early 1939, more than a year before Ion Antonescu either seized power in Romania or adopted the rank of marshal, at least in OTL. . Not pictured: Goons.]] # In his last scene in Hitler's War (the first day of the Japanese invasion of the USSR), Sgt. Hideki Fujita is informed that his superior, Lt. Hanafusa, has been shot twice in the chest and will probably die.Ibid., p.458 However, in the follow-up volume West and East, Hanafusa is shown to be alive and in charge, and no explanation is ever offered for this discrepancy.West and East, p.17 # At the beginning of West and East, Theo Hossbach is in the hospital and wants to be released. He has an exchange with a doctor, approximately, Theo: "I'm tired of laying in bed." Doctor: "That's lying." Theo: "I'm not lying." The characters are speaking German and in that language the equivalent words are not close in pronunciation. # In West and East, historical figure Julius Lemp is reintroduced to the reader as Josef Lemp in his first scene.West and East, pg. 36. He reverts back to "Julius" for the remainder of the series. would rather be a "Joey" than a "Julie".]] # Applies to audiobook only: an important character in the series is named Samuel Goldman. While the printed books agree on this character's name, the audiobook version of West and East consistently names him as "Benjamin Goldman." All other audiobooks in the series correctly refer to him as Samuel. # In Vaclav Jezek's first scene in West and East, he hears Benjamin Halévy speak a phrase in German and concludes from the correct pronunciation that Halevy must be conversational in the language.West and East, pg. 43. In his second scene, he hears Halevy speak several sentences in German to an enemy soldier and is surprised that the liaison officer can do so. # In West and East, Joaquin Delgadillo notes early in the novel that Miguel Carrasquel was a veteran of the fighting in Spanish Morocco.West and East, pg. 59. However, later Delgadillo is surprised to later learn that Carrasquel had fought in the war against the Rifs in Morocco.Ibid. 188. # In West and East, Chaim Weinberg claims that "Before the Republic overthrew [[Alfonso XIII of Spain|King Alfonso] in 1931], it was ... illegal to be a Jew in Spain. It still is, in Nationalist country."Ibid., pg. 229. This claim is false, although it is just the kind of story the Republicans might concoct to recruit Jews. # In Hitler's War, Peggy Druce is described as having married into money and respectable Philadelphia society after rising from humble beginnings and growing up "a devil of a long way from the Main Line." Hitler's War p 31 In The Big Switch, she is described as having "grown up in one Main Line family, and married into another."The Big Switch ch 1 # Toward the end of The Big Switch, Sergei Yaroslavsky offers an apology to his bomb-aimer after a somewhat sarcastic exchange during a mission. The narration includes the line "Afterwards, he would feel silly...but that was afterwards." This statement can only be metaphorical at best, as there was no afterwards from Yaroslavsky's perspective; he died in the same scene, just a few minutes later.The Big Switch ch 23 # In The Big Switch, the supporters of the British Union of Fascists are identified as "Silver Shirts". In OTL, the BUF were the "blackshirts", while the Silver Legion, a.k.a the Silver Shirts, were a fascist organization located in the United States. While this may be an intentional meta-textual call-back to BUF-analog the "Silver Shirts" in the Southern Victory series, there is no in-text explanation for why the BUF traded in their black for silver. # In The Big Switch, we learn that in January 1941, in addition to attacking Manila and Hawaii, Japan also attacks British Malaya and "French Indonesia".The Big Switch, pg. 398. In both OTL and this series, Indonesia was a Dutch colony, whereas the French controlled Indo''china''. Later in the same book, the Japanese are correctly stated to have landed in the Philippines, French Indochina, Malaya and the ''Dutch'' East Indies.Ibid, pg. 408 # Through the series, the Condor Legion is referred in several occasions as the "Legion Kondor". Although the Kondor is the German word for Condor, the military unit used the name "Legion Condor", the Spanish translation. # In The Big Switch, Willi Dernen, comes under attack from Russian mortars. He identifies them as 81mm. The scene is set in late 1940, which meant that the mortars used by the Red Army was the 82mm BM-37 model. While this weapon was based of a French mortar that was 81mm, it's highly unlikely that they would have the French model considering that they were at war with France.The Big Switch, pg. 343-334, Kindle. # In The Big Switch, the narration tells us at one point: "The Soviet Union already had as much country as any self-respecting country needed."The Big Switch, p. 197. Presumably Turtledove meant to write "...had as much trouble as..." # Shortly after his introduction in The Big Switch, Ronald Cartland is at one point referred to as "Crawford."The Big Switch, p. 342. : "Because that's when Turtledove set his series."]] # In The Big Switch, Julius Lemp tells Gerhart Beilharz the fable of an American gangster who was asked why he chose to rob banks, and replied: "Because that's where the money is."The Big Switch, p. 260. This straight-line comes from an article published in the California newspaper The Redlands Daily Facts, on March 15, 1952, well after the time period of this series. # Viscount "Bobbety" Cranborne, a historical figure, is introduced by his right name in The Big Switch. In the next volume Coup d'Etat, he has become "Bobbety" Cran''ford'',Coup d'Etat, pg. 94, HC. an error that continues for the remainder of the series.Two Fronts, pgs. 174-176.Last Orders, pgs. 379-381. # In Coup d'Etat, US Marine, Pete McGill is in Surabaya after fleeing Manila. While there, he spots a Dutch Fokker D.XXI providing CAP's over the harbour. Historically these fighters were designed for the Dutch Army Air Force in the East Indies, but the rise of Nazi Germany prevented them from being delivered as all the fighters were kept in the Netherlands for home defence. Even after the fall of the Netherlands in 1940, all Fokkers that survived were captured by the Germans and employed in their and their allies air forces.Coup d'Etat, pgs. 71-72, Kindle. # Towards the conclusion of Coup d'Etat, US Marine, Joe Orsatti makes the comment that the “Aussies are sweating bullets,” to which fellow marine, Pete McGill agrees to. This is a reference to the OTL panic that struck Australia in early 1942, when the country feared invasion. However, while this panic was attributed to numerous factors, the main contributor was the fall of Singapore. Singapore was seen by all Australians as the country's defence policy, and it's rapid fall came as a tremendous shock to all. By the end of Coup d'Etat, Singapore hasn't fallen, and only Darwin is being attacked. While it is possible that Australians would be alarmed, they wouldn't be panicking like OTL because Singapore hasn't fallen.Coup d'Etat, pgs. 346-47, Kindle. # For a single scene in Two Fronts, the NKVD is called by its successor's name, the "KGB".Two Fronts, pgs. 43-45. # says: "Too bad the series is over, if there'd been a Book Seven HT would have made me Pope!"]] In Two Fronts, Bishop Clemens August von Galen is described as being an archbishop, even though he was correctly described as a bishop in his previous appearances.Two Fronts, pg. 358. He is properly a bishop again in Last Orders,Last Orders, pg. 36. but is a cardinal at several points later in the book. ibid p 169, p 273 (Von Galen was indeed made a cardinal in OTL, but not until 1946.) #Bishop von Galen also is said never to have protested the way Germany treats its Jews, which isn't true, either in OTL or this ATL: Apart from having written sermons denouncing Nazi racism as early as 1937 (before the series' relevant POD), in The Big Switch, von Galen publicly and loudly describes Germany's policy of renaming the Jews a disgrace while in a government building.The Big Switch, pgs. 53-54. # While playing chess in 1943, Anastas Mouradian reflects that all the players he knew thought "fancied themselves as the reincarnations of Botvinnik and Tal." This metaphor is a bit awkward, as both men were still alive at the time, at least in OTL. Regardless of this, while conjuring the image of Mikhail Botvinnik, who had achieved fame as a chess player in the 1920s, is certainly plausible, conjuring the image of Mikhail Tal, who was only seven years old when the scene is set, and didn't become prominent until around 1951, is rather impossible.Two Fronts, pg. 321. # In Last Orders, we learn that Spanish Nationalists are seeking refuge in "General" António de Oliveira Salazar‎‎'s Portugal.Last Orders, pg. 287. While Salazar held a number of political positions during his reign, he never served in the military, much less attained the rank of general. # Horace Wilson succeeds Neville Chamberlain as Britain's Prime Minister in''The Big Switch, and is then overthrown by a military coup in the next volume, ''Coup d'Etat. The office of PM remains vacant for the rest of the series. However, in Last Orders, Lord Halifax is incorrectly referenced as having been Chamberlain's successor.Last Orders, pg. 379. ? I'd love to!...What? No, I'm Lord Halifax not Horace Wilson."]] # In 1944, Douglas Edwards reports that American servicemen in Australia are popularising the sport of baseball in the country. Baseball had been popularised by Americans as far back as the Victorian Gold Rush in the 1850s, with teams and championships existing before World War I, all of which happened before the series' POD.Last Orders, pg. 319. Inconsistencies in "We Haven't Got There Yet" #William Shakespeare seems to reflect on Will Kempe as being still alive in 1606. Most historians believe that Kempe died in 1603, although there is some room for debate given the ambiguity of the records of the era. In addition, this may be a butterfly effect of an earlier POD than the relevant one stated. #The main setting is a play performing at the Rose Theatre in 1606. The OTL records suggest that the Rose apparently had its last show in 1605, and was torn down in 1606. However, the same qualifiers as in the previous item also apply here. Inconsistencies in A World of Difference #When accused by his human visitors of being unsympathetic to the plight of mates like Lamra, Reatur bitterly tells them that every Minervan male who has seen a mate die in childbirth has experienced sorrow: "We are not animals, and neither are they." However, earlier in the book he had privately reflected that "unlike some males" he treated mates as well as he could. #In chapter 1, one of the Tsiolkovsky crew members is introduced as Oleg Lopatin. Later in the scene he is referred to as "Igor Lopatin," then his name changes back to Oleg for the rest of the book. Inconsistencies in Worldwar #In In the Balance, Fleetlord Atvar is addressed by Subleader Erewlo as "kinsmale of the Emperor." It later becomes important to understanding the Race that they do not keep track of kinship, except for those in direct line of succession of the Ssumaz dynasty, thus nepotism is unknown. Towards the end of Homeward Bound, it is specifically stated that Atvar never knew who his parents were. #In In the Balance, as the Conquest Fleet approaches Earth and observes solid ice on the ground in the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, the Lizards reflect that on Home ice is rarely seen outside physics laboratories. In Homeward Bound, the Race acknowledges that solid water in the form of snow is a not-infrequent occurrence in the winter months in their planet's south pole, though it does not remain on the ground year-round. #In Sam Yeager's introductory scene in In the Balance, he plays in a baseball game in Madison, Wisconsin at "Breese Stephens Field." The correct spelling is Stevens. #In In the Balance, chapter 2, Gefron destroys a British Spitfire and very casually describes it to his comrades as "easy as a female in the middle of her season." In that novel's very first scene, an exasperated Fleetlord Atvar gives his computer an order it "was not anatomically equipped to obey." In Colonization, the Race invents prostitution where males pay a female to take ginger and get herself into heat. Several other examples abound in the series. Yet in Second Contact, Nesseref mentions that even thinking of mating behavior in the absence of the appropriate stimuli is indicative of severe hormonal imbalances. Neither Gefron nor Atvar was ever accused of hormonal imbalance. It could be, though, that Nesseref was a bit naïve when she made that statement. #When Jens Larssen makes his first appearance in In the Balance, chapter 2, he reminisces about being born and raised in San Francisco, and finding Chicago's winter intolerable. On several occasions later in the same novel (and once in Tilting the Balance), he reminisces about living in a small town in Minnesota from infancy until the start of college, with fond childhood memories of playing in the snow. #In In the Balance, Fleetlord Atvar claims that the crime of impericide had never even occurred to him or any other male of the Race, until Vyacheslav Molotov boasted of the assassination of Tsar Nicholas II during the Russian Revolution. Other Race characters express the same incomprehension about the same crime in several volumes. However, in Upsetting the Balance, he thinks of at least one ancient unsuccessful attempt on an Emperor's life, whose perpetrator Vorgnil is well known in the species' history. #In In the Balance, Fleetlord Atvar claims that Halless 1 was politically unified under a single imperial dynasty when the Race's Conquest Fleet arrived. In Homeward Bound, Wakonafula claimed that the planet had been divided among competing empires and that one benefit of the Race's arrival was political unification which put an end to warfare among the empires. Admittedly, POV character Karen Yeager does consider the possibility that Wakonafula is reciting a Race revisionist-history propaganda speech. #In In the Balance, minor character Yevdokia Kasherina, who appears only in the final scene of chapter 10, has her first name abruptly change to Yevgenia.In the Balance, pgs. 239-240, HC. #In In the Balance chapter 14, Zolraag states that the role of females of the Race is to brood and raise the hatchlings. Teerts has a similar thought in Tilting the Balance chapter 2. In later volumes, it is established that hatchlings are born with survival skills and live feral for their first few years, and the concept of motherhood is unknown to the Race. #Barbara Larssen forgets the meaning of the acronym FUBAR between In the Balance and Tilting the Balance. # , a fast learner.]]At Big Five meetings in In the Balance and Tilting the Balance, Japanese delegate Shigenori Togo speaks German but requires a translator to communicate with his British and American colleagues. However, at the Peace of Cairo conference in Striking the Balance, Togo speaks English well enough to conduct important, complex diplomatic negotiations on his own. Being in the middle of a war for planetary survival must sharpen one's learning skills indeed. #In Tilting the Balance, Ttomalss shows Liu Han an ultrasound of her unborn baby. Liu Han thanks him for showing her that she will have a male, presumably because she saw, or thought she saw, a penis in the picture. However, the child Liu Mei is born a female, and neither Liu Han nor Ttomalss find this the least bit surprising. #In Tilting the Balance, Nieh Ho-Ting is described as having commanded a division on the Long March before the POD. The historical Nieh served as chief of staff to General Lin Biao and was not a field commander himself. #In Upsetting the Balance, Heinrich Jäger remembers destroying five of the Race's landcruisers in France. Earlier in the book he destroyed six in the battle referred to. #A soldier and minor character in Upsetting the Balance is named "Jake Calhoun" in the character list, but Jack Calhoun in the text. #The name of a prison trustee, who is a minor character in Striking the Balance, fluctuates between Stepan Radzutak and "Stepan Rudzutak". While the latter spelling is used in the dramatis personae, both spellings are used in the text, with the former being more prevalent.Striking the Balance, pgs. 132-134, PB; pgs. 122-126, HC. #In Striking the Balance chapter 9, Herman Muldoon briefly becomes "Henry Muldoon" before resuming his right name in the same passage. #From Striking the Balance onward, frequent references are made to the fact that Japan was shorn of its empire by the Race under the terms of the Peace of Cairo and remained sovereign only within its Home Islands. However, the maps at the fronts of the Colonization books show Japanese Pacific and Indochinese (though not Chinese) territory at or near its World War II height. #In Second Contact, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria are described as Germany's vassal states and are placed on a list of all the sovereign not-empires in the world that does not include Slovakia. In Down to Earth, the list is repeated at the outset of the Race-German War of 1965, and Slovakia has replaced Bulgaria, which is not mentioned at all. #In Second Contact, minor character Jack McDowell has his named changed to "Jack McKinnon" in the middle of the novel. #As Washington, including the White House, was nuked by the Race in 1942 during the fighting, the United States government settles down after the end of hostilities in Little Rock, Arkansas, with the President moving into the former Governor's Mansion. In OTL, Arkansas did not have such an official building until 1950, and the course of post-1942 history in Worldwar would probably have given the state more important things to worry about than that minor issue. The building's press-given name is not consistent in the series: in Second Contact it has been dubbed the "new White House" by the press, in honor of the original. In Down to Earth and Aftershocks, the mansion is called the "Gray House," also supposedly in honor of the original.Down to Earth, pg. 320. #In Down to Earth it is stated that the male to female ratio on board the Lewis and Clark is 3 to 1 while in Aftershocks it is 2 to 1. #In Aftershocks, when Jane Archibald finishes her studies at Russie Medical College in Jerusalem, she tells Dr. Reuven Russie that she always wanted to start her practice somewhere that's not in the Race's dominion, and Reuven acknowledges this. She soon fulfills this wish by settling in Canada. In the previous two novels Second Contact and Down to Earth, Jane never once stated this goal, but instead hoped to return to the very-much Race-ruled Australia after finishing her studies, but was fearful that the Race would not allow this. # ]]In Aftershocks, the narration in a Mordechai Anielewicz POV scene at one point refers to him as "Moishe."Aftershocks, p. 354, HC. #In Homeward Bound, the distance between Home and Earth is stated to be 11 lightyears while in previous books it is stated as being 10. The distance from Sol to Tau Ceti is in fact just under 12 light years. References Inconsistencies in Turtledove's Work *